Rayon Sports caretaker Marcel Lomami admits the club will miss the services of attacking midfielder Youssef Rharb but insists he lacked discipline and that undermined the team’s quest for a league title.  

The tactician was reacting to Youssef’s situation at Rayon, which prompted the club management’s decision to send the Moroccan youngster and teammate Ait Lahssaine Ayoub back to their parent club – Raja Casablanca.

The Blues announced the Moroccan loanees’ premature return to their club on Friday, January 14, following reports that they were not happy with life at the club, citing salary delays and ‘quality of food’ behind their protests.

Times Sport understands that the duo missed Thursday’s training session, a day before they left the rest of the squad at Nzove training base as the team was preparing for a league game against Musanze.

It is reported that Youssef attended Wednesday’s training but left mid-way the session, accusing Lomami of lack of respect when he asked him to follow instructions and ‘train as a team’.

The player’s behavior did not go down well with the coach who says Youssef and Ayoud lacked discipline, and it made it difficult to handle the team and consequently affected the results. Before his departure, Youssef had established himself as a key figure at Rayon and the club struggled without him in the attacking midfield as they were held by Musanze FC to a goalless draw on Saturday at Kigali Stadium.

Lomami admits the club will miss the Moroccan’s services as he acknowledges his instrumental role in the club’s results. However, he said, the player’s lack of discipline won’t be missed.

"They were both important players for the club, they helped the team but they are no longer with us. Of course Youssef is a huge loss but being a good player is one thing but being a good player who lacks discipline is another thing,” Lomami told journalists in a post-match press conference on Saturday.

"The club management’s decision to send them back to their club was not easy to take but I believe it was worth it because things turned too much at the time. They have not been training with the team and we had no idea why they were not attending training sessions,” he added.   

Rayon is now looking for two players including a player of Youssef’s profile in a bid to stay in the title race.